Let The Years Fall Down
by bluerain1984
Summary: RKxIY: Kenshin is part demon? Team Kenshin are confronted by the mysterious priestess, Kikyo. Why does she haunt Sanosuke? What is her connection to Kenshin? And who is this evil villain in the shadows that binds them all?
1. Ghost From the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own either Rurouni Kenshin or Inu-yasha. I hope you guys enjoy this new twist on the Kenshin- Inu cross. So whether or not you love or hate Kikyo, you can't help but enjoy this fable. Enjoy.

**Let the Years Fall Down**

**Chapter One: Ghost From the Past**

"How could they!" the boy cried as he tore through the woods. Little Sanosuke could not get the image out his mind; his hero, Captain Sagara… the man who cared for him as if he were his son… his head laid on a pedestal for al to see. And the false crimes against him! How could the government that Captain Sagara had fought so hard to bring forth betray him so? Sanosuke was fortunate that, being a child, he had also not shared his leader's fate… But he did not feel fortunate.

"I should have died too!" he cried to the night. "I'm a coward, Captain! I should have died with you and the others!" As he wept, he suddenly heard the sound of running water. It was close. Very close. He then remembered being told how when Samurai failed a mission or were captured or had not been killed in battle that they sometimes took their own lives to preserve their honor. Sanosuke bushed aside the leaves and brush to see a deep river at his feet. Looking at his tear streaked reflection in the water, he could think of no other way.

"Captain," Sanosuke said to the reflection. He held out his arms, and closed his eyes. "I will preserve my honor, like you did. I will join you and my comrades of the Sekiho-tai…" He leaned on the river bed, and was taken by the river.

**_Transition_**

She had heard the splash nearby, but she could not fathom what had made it. Until now she was mostly concerned for her search. But as she went through the forest and saw the small footprints in the dirt, she knew she had to help the child that might have fallen in. She hurried to the river, and saw, held under by the current, a boy under the water. She reached her pale arms into the icy river and grabbed him. When she started to lift him out, his arms thrashed and he struggled. He was so strong for such a small thing.

When she had gotten him on the river bed, he kicked around and coughed. Then he screamed, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? Let me go! I want to die! I have to die!"

**_Transition_**

How could fate be this cruel to him? Ripped from his commander and fellow soldiers not once, but twice! Sanosuke balled up his fists and beat them on the chest of the person who'd pulled him out of the water.

"Killing yourself will not bring back your family," said the deep female voice that made the chest he was hitting vibrate.

"I'm not dying for family!" Sanosuke screamed at her. "I'm dying to join my army!"

The voice laughed. "You seem young to be leading armies," then it said more seriously, "But then with these times, it is not entirely unlikely."

"How dare you mock me?" Sanosuke yelled. "Do you know who I-!"

"Look at me," said the voice, calmly.

Sanosuke had not realized that his eyes had been closed. He opened them, and looked up. His voice froze in his throat. Her skin was as pale as the moonlight shining around them. Her hair blended into the dark night. Orbs of light surrounded them, were they in the stars? And this woman… She had such a young face, so lovely and kind yet so cold… so sad. Was she one of the Christian angels he'd heard about from western missionaries? A water nymph disguised as a Shinto Priestess? Or was she the legendary Moon Princess, Kagulya, come from her palace on the moon?

"Wh- who a-are you?" he whispered.

"I am many things, and nothing," said the woman. "I am a priestess and a spirit. A woman both living and dead. I am a wanderer who is yet bound to this place."

He wanted to shout and demand she stop speaking in riddles, but something about her made him feel so peaceful. As he looked into her dark eyes he could feel her sympathy for him. Had she once lost someone as important to her as Captain Sagara was to him?

"Little one," the pale woman said softly, "do not seek death as solace for loss. Would your comrades want you to die when you have barely started living?"

Sanosuke thought about that, considered her words. No, he knew what the captain and the other men would say. They would want him to live. They would want him to grow up; perhaps… perhaps they would want him to keep fighting. Yes! They would want him to fight for the ideals they had believed in, not the lies of the new treacherous government.

"No," he answered. "They wouldn't."

"Then sleep," the woman said, laying two slender fingers on Sanosuke's forehead. "Sleep, and let this sadness wash away."

His eyes were already getting heavy. He could not keep them open any longer. "W-wait," he mumbled drowsily, "Who are you?"

"I am the guardian spirit of children," the woman said, smiling. It was so sad yet so beautiful. "Kikyo."

"Kikyo…. sama…." Sanosuke said as the arms of sleep took him from the arms of his rescuer.

**_Ten Years Later, in Tokyo_**

"Sanosuke!" called out Yahiko as he opened the back door. He looked out in the back garden and saw the tall young man sitting near the little pond. As he approached, he saw that the tough guy was just staring blankly at his reflection in the water. Yahiko took a deep breath and screamed in his housemate's ear, "SANOSUKE!"

"GAH!" Sanosuke yelled, jumping in his spot. He whirled around and knocked the kid so hard that he grew a great big bump on his head. "What the hell is your problem, kid!"

"It's dinner time, you big baka!" Yahiko yelled back at him. "What the heck are you doing here staring at water in the middle of the night!"

"None of your business," Sanosuke said, getting up, walking to the dojo. "Can't I have a minute's peace? Can't I have deep thoughts?"

"That'd require a brain, which you don't have," Yahiko answered. Sanosuke hit him again, giving him twin bumps.

As they went in, Kaoru was setting out the bowls of dumplings and rice and the slices of beef she's picked up that day. Kenshin sat quietly, smiling as always at dinner time. Then the former Battosai turned his head and said cheerfully, "Good evening Sano. This one is pleased you have joined us."

"I never miss a chance for food," Sanosuke said, sitting down. "Even if it is Kaoru's cooking."

Kaoru got up and gave Sanosuke a lump on the head. "How dare you? I'm a good cook! If it were really as bad as you say you wouldn't eat it!"

"Shut up and pass the soy sauce," Sanosuke said with a full mouth.

Before she could brain him again, Kaoru and all the rest heard a knocking on the door. "Who could that be this time of night?" Kaoru wondered aloud. She got up, dusted off her kimono, tightened her ribbon, and went to answer the front door. Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sanosuke stayed in their seats, and continued to eat, but they could not help hearing the words Kaoru exchanged with the unexpected mystery guest.

"Of course you can stay here tonight," Kaoru said, "But would you not be more comfortable at an inn, or even a shrine? This is just-"

"The Kamiya Kassin-Ryu Kenjutsu Dojo, I know," said the guest's voice. "I prefer privacy… and there is one I wish to speak to."

"You think it may be another of your old buddies, Kenshin?" Yahiko asked his idol.

"This one does not believe so," Kenshin replied, gulping his food. "This voice is unfamiliar."

"What about you, Sanosuke?" Yahiko asked him. He got no reply. "Sanosuke?"

They both looked at their dinner companion. His face was deathly white, and he was as motionless as a statue.

"Sano?" Kenshin inquired.

"Sanosuke, you're starting to scare me?" Yahiko said.

"Everyone, we have an extra dinner guest for the night," Kaoru said pleasantly. She moved aside, and, half bowing, gestured to their new arrival. "This is-"

Sanosuke dropped both chopsticks and bowl, shattering it on the floor, his dinner spilling everywhere. He knew her. There was no mistake. Her hair had been flowing loose back then, but even bound as it was now, he knew he was not mistaken. But how, in ten years passing, could she not have aged?

"K-Kikyo-sama!" Sanosuke said breathlessly.

The priestess smiled. "How nice of you to remember me, little one. You have grown since last we met."

"Do you know her, Sanosuke?" Yahiko asked him.

"How can you be here!" Sanosuke yelled, pointing his finger at Kikyo-sama. "You- you vanished the second I fell asleep! You were a water sprite!"

Kikyo-sama laughed, just as she had back then. "As you can see, I am no nymph."

"Then how can you still look just seventeen?" Sanosuke demanded.

"Sanosuke-san, stop it!" Kaoru ordered him. "She's a guest, why are you-?"

"Kaoru-dono, get away from her," Kenshin said roughly, unsheathing his reverse blade sword, his battle glare fixed on his face. "This woman is dangerous."

"What?" Kaoru asked. "But she's a Shinto priestess."

"Can't you sense it? My chi detects that she is no ordinary woman." Kenshin said.

As Kaoru and Yahiko started believing that both their friends had gone crazy, Kikyo started laughing again. But it wasn't the humoring chuckled from a moment ago. It was a deep laugh that made her throw her head back. With a wide grin on her face, and her eyes darkened, she glared back at Kenshin.

"Your chi? Are you certain that much more is warning you? Can you, in fact, smell something wrong about me? Can you not smell death on me? My flesh made from grave soil and bones?"

"What…" Kaoru muttered, backing away from her now menacing guest.

"Kenshin?" Yahiko asked, getting his wooden sword, ready to stand with his hero at a second's notice.

"I have searched for over thirty years for you, little renegade," Kikyo said. "And now it has ended." suddenly, orbs of light, carried by creatures that looked half snake, half fish, surrounded them. "I have found you at last, the final link in the bloodline. The heir of Inu-yasha, Lord of the Dog Demons!"


	2. The Tainted Lineage

**Chapter Two: The Tainted Lineage**

"Kenshin?" Kaoru said as her hand flew up to cover her gaping mouth.

"A demon!" Yahiko exclaimed.

"NO WAY!" the both exclaimed.

"It is true," Kikyo said as she calmly took her seat at the table.

"You have to be lying!" Sanosuke yelled. He slammed his big fists on the table top, sending more bowls and cup - and the food- to the floor. "Kenshin might be a great fighter, but he's no demon!"

"Must you all shout so much?" Kikyo asked as she took one of the few remaining dishes of food, picked up some clean chopsticks, and began to eat. "Hmmm. It is good to taste real food again, though my body really needs nothing for sustenance. I commend you, Kaoru-san."

"How dare you!" Kaoru replied. She too slammed her hand on the table and leaned in over Kikyo. "You come into my home, insult Kenshin by calling him a demon, cause all this trouble, and then eat my food like you're welcome!"

"If you will recall, it was little Sanosuke who destroyed your good dishes." Kikyo pointed out.

"Kenshin," Yahiko said, turning to his idol, "She's probably an assassin or spy or something sent to turn us against each other. Beat her up with your reverse-blade sword and get her outa here already!"

"No," Kenshin said, just as calmly as Kikyo.

"WHAT?" all three of his friends exclaimed. Then, with their eyes wide and mouths hanging open, Kenshin walked over to the table, and sat down opposite Kikyo. He glared at her, like he usually did when battling an enemy.

"If this one is indeed what you say, give me your proof," Kenshin said.

Kikyo stopped, her chopsticks raised almost to her mouth. Then, with all the fluid grace she'd had form the moment she entered, she set them and the bowl down, and laid her hands on her lap.

"I have but two things to offer as 'proof'," she said. The others watched and listened. "An ancient heirloom and my story…. Which I have lived and seen for over four hundred years."

**_Kikyo's Narration_**

In the days of the Feuding States, I was a priestess in a village where this city now stands. Of what is now known as the Shrine of the Setting Sun. And in that village, I protected the sacred Shikon no Tama from wicked humans and demons. But one day, a half demon named Inu-yasha, the youngest son of the Inu no-Taishu, came seeking the Jewel. I pitied him, for his existence was as lonely and as full of sorrow as my own. For though I had my sister, I felt no connection to anyone. We were alone in the world, and found comfort in one another… He became my…friend. As we grew close, he told me that he wanted to become a complete human. I said the Jewel had this power, and thus, I took it and went to meet him. Unfortunately, a common enemy of ours took on Inu-yasha's form, and he tricked me into be-spelling Inu-yasha to a tree. But I had been wounded, and that very day… I died, taking the Jewel with me.

Fifty years passed after my death. And I had been reborn; reincarnated into a witless young girl. She freed Inu-yasha, and brought back the Sacred Jewel, releasing evil into the world again. My soul would have remained in that girl, but unfortunately for me, my ashes and grave dirt were stolen by a witch, and turned into this false body. The girl reclaimed my soul, but this body has never lost it's pain and hate. I had been turned into one of the undead, forever walking this earth with no hope of peace.

But you wished to know of your lineage, yes, Ken-san? Hm. Well, after his awakening, Inu-yasha and the girl devoted their lives to protecting the land. And like all his kind, he mated with her and created a new lineage with his tainted demon blood. But being only quarter bloods and not half breeds, their children were able to hide themselves among humans. Then, their children bred with other humans, and the blood of demon and human further mingled and meshed. And through all the years, I have stood watch over these descendants… I suppose I feel a certain responsibility over this particular bloodline.

Then, almost thirty five years ago, I lost one of the families of the line. They had seemed to have been wiped out in the midst of the new wars. But upon investigating, I discovered that at least one child, one son, from the lost family lived. I spent the following years searching for that child. In the process, I may have touched the lives of a few others, like little Sanosuke, but my life was otherwise committed to finding the lost son. Occasionally, I would hear of a man called Hitokiri Battosai. A man who's eyes struck fear in the hearts of his enemy, who was merciless and struck with god-like speed. I knew for certain this had to be the one I sought. But these tales also worried me. I had to find him soon.

Finally, one year ago, I heard of a two men in the city of Tokyo who had gained reputations as unstoppable, undefeatable warriors, and that one carried a sword with him in spite of the new ways of the Meiji. At first, I was skeptical, but I came none the less. And since then, I have watched you all as you live and, of course, fight when you had to. And Ken-san, you did not disappoint me. I saw as your eyes turned as yellow and pale as the moon, and I heard your battle cries. Only one with the blood of the dog demons could be this quick and this deadly. I knew, without a doubt, that you were indeed the lost descendant of Inu-yasha.

**_End Narration_**

"I still don't believe you," Yahiko said, interrupting Kikyo.

"This is far fetched," Kenshin said. "But you said you had other proof."

"Indeed I do," Kikyo said. Then she got up, and said, "I shall retrieve it from the hall," and she left the room.

"I could get my wooden sword and kick her out," Yahiko said.

"Kenshin," Kaoru said, laying her hand gently on Kenshin's arm, "I don't care what she says or has with her. I don't believe any of it. You couldn't possibly-"

"Here it is," Kikyo said as she returned, a long wrapped bundle in her hand. She held it delicately, as if it were made of fragile glass. "This is the heirloom of Inu-yasha's bloodline. Only his direct descendant can touch it… And only the item's chosen master can wield it's power." then, she carefully unwrapped it from it's sheet. What emerged was a scabbarded sword. It's sheath was polished, and gleamed like deep opals in the light of the room. But it's hilt was a bit shaggy and showed it's age. Kikyo took it in her hands, and said, "Your proof is this," she drew the sword…

Sanosuke and Yahiko fell to the floor laughing.

"That thing is a demon's sword!" Sanosuke laughed, pointing to it. "It couldn't cut melted butter!"

Indeed, the sword was rusted and chipped, it looked so dull that no amount of sharpening could make it lethal, and it might have fallen apart at any second. Kikyo sheathed it again, then she tossed the sword to Kenshin, who caught it with as much ease and grace as Kikyo had thrown it.

"You draw it," Kikyo said. "If you are the lost son I've been seeking, then it shall be awakened.

Kenshin looked as his reflection in the flawless scabbard. Then he said, "If it shall end this, I shall." and he drew the sword.

It was still a rusty piece of junk.

"Alright," Kaoru said, getting up and putting her hands on her hips, "He's drawn it and it's still worthless. He's not your demon child. Now leave!"

Kikyo just laughed. "You think I take orders from a sheepish child? I am immortal!" then, quicker than lightening out of a clear sky, Kikyo had her bow out, and an arrow knocked and pointed at Kaoru's heart.

"Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin cried, leaping to his feet.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko and Sanosuke shouted.

"If any of you move any more, she will be dead," Kikyo said as she pulled the string back tighter. Kaoru was frozen in terror.

"Hitten-Mitzurugi Kassin-Ryu!" Kenshin cried, raising the unsheathed chipped sword over his head. Before he could use his god-like speed, the sword began to pulse, and all was frozen in place. Then, in seconds, the rusted sword transformed, and grew a gigantic, white blade, with a hilt covered in white fur. In fact, it looked like sharp, and deadly, fang.

As Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sanosuke stared up at the new sword in awe, Kikyo put away both arrow and bow, and said to the stunned Kenshin, who looked at what he held like it was something form another planet, "That, Ken-san, is the sword of Inu-yasha: The Tetsusaiga. The Steel Cleaving Fang that can kill one hundred demons in one blow."

**_Transition_**

Later that night, Sanosuke couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned a few times before he just stopped trying, and stared up at the ceiling. The events of the evening kept replaying in his head. Kikyo-sama's reappearance, the demon sword awakened by Kenshin's feelings for Kaoru… and the conversation afterward.  
"I refuse to use this sword," Kenshin had said, laying it at Kikyo-sama's pale, perfect feet.

"You must," Kikyo-sama had urged, "Otherwise your demon blood will grow too strong, and you will become a monster who lives for blood and death!"

"Kenshin would never become that!" Kaoru had objected, as she clung to Kenshin's arm. " His heart is good and kind, and I'd never let him!"

"A kind heart and a mortal's love are not enough," Kikyo-sama had replied. "Inu-yasha had both, and even after his children were born, even with their love, he still fell prey to his own demon blood."

"What are you saying?" Yahiko had demanded. "What happened to this Inu-what's-his-face?"

Kikyo-sama looked not at Yahiko, but Kenshin, and answered very solemnly, "Kagome, my reincarnation, had to slay him."

Through this last exchange, Sanosuke kept his mouth shut, for once. He didn't say anything when Kikyo-sama said she would stay the night anyway. Kenshin made no object to her staying after that, and Kaoru just went to her room with her face looking sad. Yahiko, well, he gave Kikyo-sama a dirty look and hurried off to his room, and form the scurrying and racket that came form the room, he probably used all his things to barricade the door.

"Though I doubt she can float through walls, even if she is immortal," Sanosuke said to the ceiling. That's when he heard something. His ears weren't as sharp as Kenshin's, but he still couldn't mistake this sound. It was like wind, yet so totally different from it it couldn't be the wind. It was so familiar. Then came the lights again. The lights just like the ones from the night Kikyo-sama had saved him. He went to the window and looked out. The snake-fish creatures were the ones making the lights. No, they were carrying the lights! Small, bright balls of light. Sanosuke climbed out the window, onto the grass, already covered in dew, and followed the creatures.

He was in the garden. And by the pond was Kikyo-sama. Her hair was unbound, like the first time. As a boy he couldn't explan why he found her so captivating to look at, but now, as a man, he could feel his chest tightening and his face growing hot, just looking at the river of night that was her hair.

Without turning, she said, "Good evening, Little Sanosuke."

"Uh," Sanosuke faltered, feeling a loss for words. Instead he watched as the strange creatures flew around, then occasionally would sweep down, and release an orb of light, letting it float then disappear inside Kikyo-sama. "What are they?" he asked, not realizing he'd spoken out loud.

"They are souls," Kikyo-sama replied. She looked back to him at last, taking his breath away with the look on her face. She must have thought he was confused. "The lights are the souls of the dead," she explained. "And the creatures are demons that collect them for me."

"Demons?" Sanosuke asked in a whisper. Then a collector demon swooped right by his head. He gasped from the sudden startle, and watched it drop yet another soul into Kikyo-sama. "But… why do you need dead souls?"

"I need the souls to stay alive," Kikyo-sama said. "Or else I this body will no longer function, and I shall die again." She lifted her lovely face, and looked right into his eyes. "Do you find me frightening? Are you afraid of me?"

Sanosuke couldn't talk as long as she kept looking at him like that. But surprising to him and, unbeknownst to him, to Kikyo-sama as well, he shook his head 'no'. Then, surprising them both even more, he walked over, never breaking eye contact, and sat down beside her in the grass. After that, she broke the contact by looking into their reflections in the water. He just looked at her.

"Don't I disgust you?" she asked, out of the blue.

"P-pardon?"

"I command demons, take souls that should pass over to the next world. I should be dust in the ground, yet I walk and breath air. Can't you sense it, like Kenshin did? Can't you sense my evil?"

"You are not evil," Sanosuke said with conviction.

"How do you know?" Kikyo-sama whispered.

"You would have let me die, that night," Sanosuke had said. "And you wouldn't have guarded the offspring of your former lover, after all this time, if you were evil."

Then, she smiled. It was her sorrowful, sad, and still so beautiful smile. "You are a fool," she said. But her voice meant no insult.

**Authoress' Note:**  
Please review!


	3. Trust or Fear?

**Chapter Three: Trust or Fear?**

Kaoru looked at her breakfast with worry the next morning. She wasn't worried about her cooking- in spite of what Sanosuke and Yahiko claimed, she was a great cook- she was worried about Kenshin. She hadn't slept well after everything that Kikyo had said.

"And I don't believe any of it!" Kaoru reaffirmed to herself. "That woman's obviously a fraud!"

"Kaoru-dono?" she heard Kenshin ask as he entered the room, followed by Yahiko, who kept looking around at the corners with paranoia.

"Oh, good morning Kenshin," Kaoru blushed as her dearest friend sat down. "I was just-"

"Do not worry for this one," Kenshin told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "He will be perfect fine."

"Is that creepy priestess gone?" Yahiko asked, his bowl and chopsticks in his hand, but his eyes shifting around.

"I the spare room," Kaoru said. "It was totally empty."

"Sano is gone, as well," Kenshin mentioned.

"I don't understand," Kaoru went on, "It looks like she never slept in the bed."

"I do not require the need of beds, very often," the ethereal voice chimed. Kaoru nearly leaped a mile in her seat, and Yahiko bit his tongue- as he had just taken his first bite of breakfast. Kenshin looked up at their 'guest'. She was standing there as she had last night, but now Sanosuke was a few steps behind her, and as Kenshin, and then Yahiko and Kaoru, noticed, the hems of Sanosuke's pant legs were stained with mud. Kikyo, however, was still immaculately clean.

"Are you suggesting the beds here aren't good enough?" Kaoru asked coldly, over her shoulder. "Why are you still here, then?"

"I require lodging until my task is done," Kikyo said.

"I thought finding Kenshin was your task," Sanosuke asked, leaning against the wall.

"Only half," Kikyo answered him, but still stood facing the others at the table. "It will not be finished until Ken-san accepts his heritage and the Tetsusaiga."

"Kenshin isn't a demon!" Kaoru and Yahiko insisted.

"This one will wield no sword that kills," Kenshin said, his face very serious.

Kikyo paused. "Baka." Then she smiled, and said, "I'm going into the city. I wish to see how much has really changed in four hundred years." She didn't even glance at Sanosuke as she left.

"Good riddance," Yahiko announced after Kikyo had been gone for a time. Then he started digging into his room temperature breakfast.

Kenshin had taken one bite, then he looked to the still standing Sanosuke. "Aren't you hungry Sano?" he asked.

"I'll eat later," Sanosuke said. They all looked at him, shocked, and a little scared.

"You're not hungry?" Kaoru asked.

"Are you ill, Sano?" Kenshin asked.

"That witch, Kikyo, probably put a spell on him," Yahiko said.

Immediately, Sanosuke was wringing Yahiko's neck, shouting, "She's not a witch! You dare to insult a refined woman like her!" then he looked at Kaoru and Kenshin, and shouted, "And I'm _not_sick!" he heaved heavily for seconds, then he took a deep breath, composed himself, and said calmly and steely, "I'm going to accompany Kikyo-sama."

"But-" the three others tried to say.

"It's wrong to let a woman walk alone, unprotected!" Sanosuke roared at them. They all shied away and started eating at their food again, and Sanosuke left.

As the door slide closed, Yahiko mumbled with a full mouth, "Told ya he's under a spell."

**_Transition_**

Sanosuke turned the corner, hoping he could catch up with Kikyo-sama before she got to far, but to his pleasant surprise, she was waiting just down the road. He sprinted to her, then stopped and looked down at her as he got his breath.

"Did you know I would follow you?" he asked her.

"Yes, and no," she replied. Then, she reached behind a bush, and pulled out a basket. She slinked her arm through he handle, and said, "Now we shall not look so strange, walking together."

But as they went into the crowded streets of the city, people would often stop, stare a moment, then give them a wide berth.

'_Kikyo-sama would stick out anywhere,_' Sanosuke thought.

Later, after Sanosuke had accompanied Kikyo-while she bought herbs and plants- "For infusions and ointments" she had said- Sanosuke's stomach started growling.

"Kikyo-sama," he said, "Would you like to join me for lunch? I know you don't really need food, but-"

"Of course I will," Kikyo-sama replied, smiling up at him. Then, she looked around and whispered, "I want no one to know what I really am, Little Sanosuke."

He felt like kicking himself. "O-oh, sure. Got it… Anyway, you'll love this one place," he said, taking her hand and guiding her down the street. "It's got the best beef dishes anywhere! Even if most of it is foreign." Holding her hand made his heart race and his mind cloud. Sanosuke new he must have been acting like an excited little kid, but he didn't care. However, his excitement could not help him forget that the hand he was holding was as cold as ice. Cold as death…

"Ah," he said as they came to the small establishment. He looked up at the sign and read, "The Akabeko. Best restaurant in town!" He led her up the stairs and opened the door for her, and he showed her the area he and Kenshin and the others usually sat, he waved to Tae, the owner, and noticed a few officers sitting nearby, with lots of empty cups strewn about. 'I'll bet they're supposed to be on duty, too,' he thought with disgust. But he would not let such things damper his afternoon with Kikyo-sama.

"Good afternoon Sanosuke," the waitress girl, Tsubame, chirped as she came over to them. She stared at Sanosuke with devotion. He grinned. He knew about her silly little crush on him. Though he didn't feel the same, he couldn't help but occasionally have a little fun with the kid.

"Hey, Tsubame," he said. "We'd like your best today. For my lovely friend here," he continued on, gesturing to Kikyo-sama.

"Oh," Tsubame said, looking at Kikyo-sama like she was a toad. "Sure…" and she sulked off with their order.

"That was unkind, Sanosuke," Kiky-sama said dourly.

"Come on, she's a kid with a crush," he said. But he looked at her face and he felt his throat cloe up and his stomach drop like a stone. That way she was looking at him… How could one person's face make him feel like the worst man who ever lived because he poked fun at a someone? He swallowed, bowed his head, and said, "My apologies, Kikyo-sama." he mumbled, with a sweat drop.

"Well well, someone actually made the insensitive Sanosuke Sagara apologize," said a familiar, and irritating voice. Sanosuke's head whipped up and to his great displeasure, miss Megumi Takani was standing there. The female doctor- and opium maker- was always exchanging quips with him whenever they chanced to pass one another's paths.

"Megumi…" he seethed through his teeth.

"And who is this miracle worker? Kikyo-sama, he called you, right?" Megumi said, as she pushed Sanosuke over and squeezed herself in beside him.

"Yes, that is correct," Kikyo-sama replied.

"Here," Tsubame said, suddenly appearing at their table. She half dropped, half slammed the tray with their food and drinks onto the table, then she seemed to stomp away.

"Hey! What happened to service with a smile!" Sanosuke hollered at he, but she retreated into the back. "Sheesh." he reached for his plate and looked over at Megumi. "What are you still doing here?"

"Can't I enjoy the company of a friend?" she snapped. Then she glared- _'glared?_' he thought- across the table at Kikyo, and said, "So, how is it you know Sanosuke? From your clothes, you're just a priestess."

"It was a long time ago," Kikyo-sama hinted. "He was but a boy, and our paths crossed briefly."

"Long enough for him to bring you here," Megumi said under her breath. "And where are you from?" she asked.

"I used to live here," Kikyo-sama said, again being half truthful. "But now I wander where I wish."

"Really? If you carried a sword, you'd be like Ken-san," Megumi said. Then, with her eyes looking full of snake venom, she asked, "So… Kikyo-sama… How long will be in town?"

Sanosuke turned to Megumi and said, "Would you stop badgering her? What do you care if she's here for the day or four hundred years?"

"Sanosuke," Kikyo-sama scolded him.

"Hey, you," one of the officers from the other table said, getting up and stumbling over. Sake was heavy on his breath. "What's a rooster head like you doing with two pretty ladies like them, anyway?"

"What did you call me!" Sanosuke shouted. He hated when people insulted the way he looked.

"Oh great," Tae said, as Tsubame peeked out from behind the kitchen. "That idiot's gonna get another fight going."

"And he hasn't paid," Tsubame said mentioned. "Then again, he never does…"

"Wanna take it outside?" the officer asked, as his buddies got up and stood behind him. "Winner gets the ladies."

"Why you-!" Sanosuke growled. But before he could get up, Kikyo-sama was standing in front of the five drunk officers.

"Leave now," she said. "Or I shall deal with you harshly."

"Oh my!" one of the officers laughed, as the others started tittering their heads off. "The little priestess is angry!"

"What will you do?" the first aggressor asked, tilting her chin up with his fingers. "Put silly sutras on our heads?

Kikyo-sama said nothing. She just reached up, took the officer's sleeves in her hands, and then suddenly, bright purple-pink and white sparks flew from her fingers and palms. She'd burnt holes into the sleeves! The man was screaming with pain and fear and tried to run from Kikyo-sama's grasp, but she had him entrapped. Then, she pushed him hard into his stunned and shocked comrades.

As the man who's sleeves smoked from the strange attack looked up at her, and other patrones cowered n their seats, Kikyo said, "Do not ever speak that way to this man, or any in his company, again. Is that clear?" then, she bent down, and whispered so low no one could her hear.

The man's eyes grew wider, and he stuttered, his voice high with panic, "Y-Yes, Ma'am!"

"You witch!" one of the others yelled, "You're under-!"

"NO!" screamed the injured one, "Leave her alone! Let he go, please!"

"But-?"

"Let's get out of here!" cried the man as he scrambled to his feet and dashed form the building. His fellow officers then made their own hasty retreats.

Everything seemed to be frozen in time a for several minutes. Then, Kikyo turned around, picked up her basket, then said to Sanosuke, "I am returning to the dojo."

"A-alright," Sanosuke said, finally getting up and walking behind Megumi. As they left, he turned, and grinned at the perplexed Tae and Tsubame, "Sorry bout all the trouble- great food, by the way. See ya!" then he rushed after Kikyo-sama.

They both walked in total silence for most of the way. When they were near the dojo, Sanosuke finally broke it and said, "You didn't have to do that. I thought you wanted to keep a low profile."

"They were dangerous for you and your friend." Kikyo replied.

"What was that last bit you whispered to that guy?" Sanosuke asked.

Kikyo-sama took a moment before she answered. "I called him demon spawn."

Sanosuke was so stunned he stopped in the middle of the path.

Kikyo stopped a few steps ahead of him, and said, "I could sense the dark demon aura in him. It was faint, but…" she looked back to him. Then she smiled again, and said, "We must hurry before these plants wilt, and the day is gone. Little Sanosuke."

Sanosuke sighed, stuck his hands in his pockets, and said, "Yes, Kikyo-sama." and he followed her home.

**_Transition_**

Back at the Akabeko restaurant, Tsubame was cleaning up from Sanosuke's table. Megumi was still sitting there, as if looking into space.

"It's odd," Tsubame said, "That creepy lady never touched her food."

"I think," Megumi said, finally getting up, "I shall pay Ken-san and Kaoru a visit."

"Not till someone pays for this meal," Tae replied.

**_Transition_**

"Let me help with the sheets, Uncle Ken," little Suzume Genzai said as she jumped up and down beside Kenshin. Laundry day again, and, of course, Dr. Genzai had brought his two granddaughters to visit the rurouni and Kaoru.

"I wanna help Uncle Kenshin!" Ayame insisted.

"Now now," Kenshin said, smiling at the two children, "There is enough here for both of you to help."

"Those two never tire of helping Kenshin," the good doctor said as he and Kaoru took tea on the porch.

"I think it's Kenshin they like more than the chores," Kaoru said. Since that horrid Kikyo had left, things were so very peaceful around he dojo again. Things felt normal again. But, it was not to last. As Kaoru took a sip of tea, she saw the priestess turn the bend and approach the dojo. She started and nearly choked on her drink, and coughed as both Kikyo and Sanosuke came into the yard.

"Welcome back, Sano," Kenshin said cheerfully. Then, less cheerful, he said, "And you, Kikyo-san."

"Kenshin," Dr. Genzai said, setting down his cup, "Where are your manners? It's been years since I've seen one, but a true Shinto Priestess deserves more respect."

"A priestess!" Ayame exclaimed. She dropped the shirt she had taken form the basket, and hurried over to see Kikyo.

"Ayame-" Kenshin began.

"Don't!" Kaoru barked.

"Oh, Kaoru, not you too," Dr. Genzai said. "Let the girl be."

"But-" Kaoru began to say, but she looked back to Kikyo and Ayame, and was surprised. Kikyo was being so very kind to the little girl. Ayame was chattering on and on, and Kikyo laughed so pleasantly it was almost delightful. Then Suzume went over to join her sister.

"Do priestesses really make magic spells?" Ayame asked.  
"No," Kikyo said, "We create charms and sutras that promote good health and protect the home. But mainly we heal the sick and injured."

"Like doctors? Like Grandpa?" Suzume asked, as wide eyed and fascinated as her sister.

"Yes," Kikyo replied. "However, our methods are very old. I rely on many herbal mixtures. I happen to have some healing herbs with me."

"Will you show us?" the girls asked.

"Of course," Kikyo replied happily, taking Ayame's hand in her free one, and led the girls off to a side of the lawn. It was the first time any of them, Kenshin, Kaoru, or Sanosuke had seen her face not look either scary or sad. But what was shoking to Kenshin and Kaoru was that nither of the girls, nor Dr.Genzai, for the rest of the afternoon, sensed how strange and so thoroughly wrong Kikyo was. Not even when sunset came, and the girls bade a reluctant farewell to them.

"Don't leave before we visit again, Kikyo-sama!" Suzume and Ayame called as their grandpa led them off home.

After the three visitors were gone, the occupants of the dojo looked at Kikyo as she turned around and walked towards the garden. The happiness they'd seen before was gone now. With them again was the sad ghostly woman who'd come to them just last night. And it seemed that as it grew darker, shining lights like stars filled the back garden.

**Authoress's Note**:  
Please review


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